Pet-names
by Eskimo82
Summary: Pet-names are cute. Aren't they?
1. Chapter 1: Princesssss

**Chapter Summary: Three times Clarke encounters Bellamy Blake.**

* * *

 **Notes:**

I am pretty sure someone, somewhere, sometime before me, might have had this or a very similar idea. Hell, maybe I've even read that story, but. I am just gonna pretend that this one's mine brainchild.

I don't like pet names. Well, not entirely true, but I have never called or been called by my other by babe, baby, bunny, squirrel, cupcake or similar. I don't want to invalidate these names, it is just not me.

To be fair, in some fics I really enjoyed Bellarke calling out 'babe' on each other, and a guilty pleasure of mine when Raven is calling Clarke 'babe' (in a friendly context, though. Sorry folks, I am hardcore Bellarke.)

[ **EDIT 31-03-2016** , So, I had to get back to this chapter, because I felt odd about some parts. No changes plot-wise, I was simply not 100% satisfied. As a result, this chapter is like 1/3 longer. I hope I also managed to make it better.]

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Princesssss**

 _i. Princesss [sarcastic, with a sneer]_

The first time Clarke sees Bellamy Blake, she is fourteen.

She is heading to her afternoon yoga class - already running a little late - and that is when she sees him sneaking into the janitor's closet, with a girl.

She is fairly new in town; they moved to Ark in August, when her mother got a new job as head of surgery in Ark Medical. Her father is a freelance engineer, designing those neat big buildings, like theaters, museums, office space and shopping malls. He is not specifically requested to be at a given town or locked into an office; he can do his job with a laptop, from a chair. Given there is a plug with running electricity around.

They all moved to town before the new school year rolled in.

She doesn't know a lot of people so far, but she knows him. She's heard of him, he is popular.

Later she learns that the girl's name is Roma.

Roma is one of the popular girls in the school, part of the cheerleading squad and everything. She is in fact, wearing her practice uniform, a short and flashy red and white and blue dress, _Ark High_ written in big letters on the back - her skirt hardly covering her ass.

She is not jealous - she is satisfied with what she's got; she's inherited quite good genes from her parents. She thinks boys equally like blondes and brunettes and Wells said her beauty mark above her lip was cute. The better parts of her body are still to develop, she is still only fourteen. But looking at Roma in that tiny dress, hearing the girly giggles she makes, and seeing how carefree she looks, now, that does make her feel something akin to jealousy.

And then there is Bellamy.

He is well known within Ark High. He is eighteen and half, started high school a year late, out of here by the end of the year, and he is gorgeous. There is really not a better word to describe him. Greek God, maybe.

Well yeah, he is in the school's swim team; he's developed all those lean muscles by the regular exercise over the years. Those nice veins running along his forearms and his neck are very much visible whenever he is wearing a simple t-shirt. Which, she noticed is quite often, he seems to like them. He looks great in them. (Her favourite colour is the deep blue.)

He is popular with the girls of course, teachers included. It seems like every female in a 3 mile radius is under his spell.

His broad shoulders and his mesmerising smiles are just amplifying all that effect Bellamy Blake is. And to top it all, he has freckles, like all over his face. She's never really liked her own freckles on her own face, but on him - freckles look good.

He also looks great in swimming trunks - she's seen him heading to swim practice in that clingy piece of garment on more than one occasion; she's also seen all the enlarged photos in the hall of fame, where the trophies of Ark High are displayed. It is not unusual to see people linger around those photos. The photos, which are mainly capturing the winner team, in a state when water is still glistening in their hair and trailing down their body, as they are holding their trophy; or a close up from the winner biting on their medals. There are quite a lot pictures of Bellamy. (He is the hero of the butterfly.)

And, she is not blind. Maybe she's imprinted on him a little, so what. As crushes go, he is a great choice. First crushes don't last long anyway, it will pass.

This is his last year, it is common knowledge, so really, she should just enjoy this time while she can. She's heard he'd already secured a good spot via scholarship at Ark University nearby; rumour has it he is smart and a loving brother, and not only a good looking body you just cannot not notice at first sight.

All in all, he has a pretty good future ahead.

* * *

The first time they have some sort of an eye contact is several months into the year. Although, seeing him sneak around is not the only thing she does. She overhears him. Them.

She passes by the janitor's closet, like her usual Tuesday routine - late from her class again -, and he is… having fun? There is either torture or sex going on in that room. She is fourteen, not stupid; she's heard about sex and she's had 'the birds and bees' talk with her mother - she knows what sex is.

It is definitely the latter.

She hurriedly passes by, although she is tempted to linger a little; she is a curious teenager, after all. But no. She has somewhere else to be. She is strong. And, she is already late.

She is just about to round the corner, when the door opens behind her back and Roma steps out - lips all plump and shiny from spit, still a little flushed and breathless from whatever was going on in there, her tiny uniform askew.

She is soon followed by Bellamy himself. Rumpled clothes, flush on his handsome freckled cheeks, his black curly hair is even more messed up than his usual dishevelled style. He looks exactly like Roma - well except, he looks _so_ _much_ better.

She really doesn't want to look, but the universe is clearly against her when he meets her eyes/gaze. A telltale heat is climbing up her neck, which is sure very much visible on her creamy skin, and he smiles. Maybe it is about her clear embarrassment for being caught staring, maybe it is just a default Bellamy thing, she doesn't know. But that smile quickly turns into a smirk, so yeah. She is so busted. In top of that he winks at her in passing. And then, as if nothing just happened here or a moment ago in that closet, he is rounding the corner, bypassing her and he is gone without a word.

When she turns her head to say something to Roma - _something_ really, like a quick _sorry, I didn't mean to stare;_ and it doesn't help that she is still feeling red and hot all over her face -, but Roma is already gone, too.

* * *

She meets Octavia Blake in the spring.

She is a class under her, and she needs tutoring in History. Clarke is pretty good in History if she dares saying so - watching all those documentaries with her Dad and gorging her way through their parents' science mags has clearly paid off. So when the word is out for tutors, she volunteers to be one of them.

Being a tutor will also look great in her applications for college, she thinks. She is growing up, she is old enough to be practical about things like this.

That's how she ends up working with one Octavia Blake.

(What Clarke doesn't think of is that it might bite her in the ass before long.)

Octavia is something else. She is gorgeous, of course.

Her first observation about the Blakes is that they have these perfect genes that make you stop in your tracks for a moment to stare and get lost in their beauty. All that, without being too much ashamed about it, or at least not for too long.

If she weren't already crushing on her brother, she could definitely crush on Octavia.

The second trait of the Blakes is their admirable, on occasion fiercely protective, big brother/little sister vibe.

Octavia is talking about him in awe, which makes her jealous of their connection in an instant. Yes, she is jealous of their love for each other.

She knows she is being jealous.

The closest she's been to someone like that was Wells, until they moved away and until he ruined them with admitting his stupid crush. But the way Octavia is talking (and smiling at the mere mention of him) about Bellamy is making her heart ache for that connection - for something she's had once but something she's lost.

Octavia is smart, although easily distracted.

They are in the middle of their tutoring session when a group of older boys are passing them in the school's library. The change is imminent in Octavia's behaviour. She goes into that all-in flirty girly mode: she is smiling wider, her greenish hazel eyes are lit up with excitement, she flicks her hair back and more often than not, she is twirling a long brown curl around her fingers. It is like a stupid girl movie is playing out in front of her eyes.

She swears she also sees her freckles glowing on her cheeks.

She is the most flirty with Adam. Or Aron, or something?

(She learns later the boy is, in fact, Atom, and a year above her class. He is also in the swim team, with Bellamy. As she learns further on, sibling love or not, but Octavia likes to mess with his brother like every good little sister does.)

She has to clear her throat a few times to get her attention again, which snaps Octavia out if it. She has the decency to blush a little while muttering a quick excuse before they carry on.

Later, when they are finished with their session, she asks her about it. There is a sly smile on Octavia's face, something very similar to what she's seen on Bellamy's before, when she admits that all her flirting is due to her brother being a little bit too protective of her and this is her way of a rebellion. "What he doesn't know, won't hurt him" she says.

Apart from these minor interruptions, Octavia is doing fine. She is smart, if she pays enough attention.

They soon outgrow the tutor-pupil relationship, and develop a genuine friendship in no time.

She offers her to call her O before their second library date.

* * *

The first time she actually talks to Bellamy, he is spitting her name viciously at her face while she is screaming his head off.

This is _not_ how she imagined their first 'chatting included' meeting would go.

She doesn't remember how this particular argument started, to be honest. He came onto her. It may be a weird coincidence that it is a Tuesday afternoon, again, and that she is on her way home out of school, after her yoga class. She is being all sweaty and smelly, hair sticking to her neck, but per usual, she decided to take a shower at home. Public bathrooms are just _yuck._

 _This_ is when she runs into him.

Literally runs into him.

He smells… good. _Like_ _heaven_ , she thinks.

Her left palm is resting on his chest, in an attempt to steady herself following the bump. His broad muscles feel nice under her fingers, and his earthy fruity smell makes her head a little dizzy. She doesn't have time to process anything beyond that, though, and it's then she realises he is speaking to her.

He _is_ speaking, but without the accompanying flirty smiles and winks she's seen him directing to her or the other girls before. He snarls, no - he hisses.

The way he speaks that word " _princesssss_ ", hissing it through his lips like a snake.

 _Princesssss. Princesssssss. Princessssssssss._

There, there is that extra accent on the letter 's', which is rubbing her all the wrong way. The sounds he is making are making her blood boil and adrenaline rush through her veins, and not in the good way like before.

Not at all.

She quickly comes to realise, he is mocking her.

It is not even about the stupid nickname. It _is_ a stupid nickname, and somewhere deep down she understands why he picked _exactly_ _that_ \- she is a top of the class student, president of the chess club, daughter of Ark's head of surgery. She is Clarke Griffin. She is used to people judging her by her name first, before knowing the _real_ _her_.

But, how can someone with such a beautiful face be such an arrogant asshole at the same time? It's beyond her to understand.

How can he be so fierce about this, about her; visibly picturing to rip her head off?

Spitting those offending words onto someone he doesn't even know?

Practically they have not even been properly introduced. Yes, they've seen each other, but always by passing. He even winked at her following the Roma incident. Winks are good, or so she thought before.

This is a mystery.

She may have wanted to solve the riddle Bellamy Blake was before, well, not anymore. All that magic and fondness, she may have had for him before this, are gone.

All gone.

It was just a physical reaction, anyway. His hair looks stupid today. His freckles are even stupider!

It is clear as day now - all his good looks and charming smiles and sweet-talking she caught on to, is only his public persona to hide his true personality. Like the siren's song before attacking their prey.

He may be Octavia's flesh and blood, and she may be talking about him being the most loving brother on earth, he is still an ass.

They are in the middle of a screaming match, in the parking lot. At the school. In bright daylight. People are still lingering around, although the ones paying attention are clearly all slack-jawed. And she still doesn't know the why _\- why_ is this all happening? Why this is happening to her - not today, not yesterday, or the other day.

So she does, what Griffins do: she doesn't back off.

It doesn't help that she's made friends with said asshole's one and only precious little baby sister, Octavia Blake. Thanks to that, they see each other practically every day; at the school, at the library, on her way to yoga class, on the corridor, in the shopping mall, or very rarely at the Blakes' house, when the library has unexpectedly closed for the day.

They try not to run into each other actively, though. If nothing else, their encounters always end up in a grunt. Or a sneer, or a hiss. _Princesssss._

Or _Braaaave Princesssssss,_ when the run-in turns into those eye to eye, nose to nose moments.

Until one of them catches up being way too close, only millimetres apart. (Until one takes a careful step back.)

Or until they can feel the other's breath or spit on their face.

Sometimes he has the guts to wink at her - _he actually winks! -_ with the sole purpose of riling her up, even more.

The arrogant, above-everyone-else asshole.

* * *

And so it goes.

Clarke Griffin meets Bellamy Blake and they disagree. About anything and everything.

A snide comment here or there, and they snap. Sometimes the wrong facial expression or a twitch of an eye is enough to ignite an argument.

The thing is, she doesn't know what Bellamy's problem is. She used to wonder in the early days of their new-borne "relationship" what she could have done to deserve a treatment like this. This hate.

His insults are curling around his tongue so naturally and so easily that she's given up on trying to understand the reason behind them.

Whatever it is, she is not willing to back down now. She is not. He is the ass here.

Instead, she narrows her eyes and focuses on the dimple forming in his chin. _Maybe, that will leave him speechless a little._

She could count the freckles on his face from this angle, but she figures that not keeping eye contact is a better bet right now. It may seem a cop out, a coward's way to deal with things, but it's worth a try. After all, he is not able to read her eyes.

A moment passes, he sounds to be frustrated; the sneering has definitely stopped. A hardly audible _huff_ is leaving his lips while he's furrowing his brows, and seemingly contemplating his next move. It takes him longer than usual to react. This is it. This is her cue to snap her eyes back right into his, this is her time to confuse the hell out of him, if that is possible at all.

And he just stares at that. His eyes are almost burning a hole into her head, his lips are slightly parted - he is clearly on the edge of sniping _something_ at her.

There is that confused question of _what the hell is happening now?_ unsaid still visible in his eyes _;_ he only settles on saying an "Are you listening to me?" instead.

 _Nice_ , she's slowly but surely figuring him out. He is one to thrive on attention.

"Nope." She replies with as much indifference as she can muster, and then walks away.

He doesn't say anything more, nor does he follow her that time.

* * *

Clarke Griffin is not a big fan of Bellamy Blake, especially when it's pretty clear that she cannot do anything to change his opinion about her.

It doesn't matter anyway.

He goes away to study at Ark University next fall. _Just a few more months,_ she reminds herself again, and again, like a mantra of sorts.

But of course, that is not gonna be the end of it. She is still friends with Octavia Blake.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

* * *

 **End notes: Let me know what you think. I don't bite.**


	2. Chapter 2: Griffin

**Chapter Summary: Clarke has summer plans and things happen when she returns to school next year.**

* * *

 **Notes** :

Okay folks. I have to say, I was kinda proud of chapter 1, but I wasn't entirely happy about it. So I went back and did some editing. Chapter 1 is now somewhat (SURPRISE! about 33%) longer. I am not too sorry about that, and haven't really changed anything plot-wise, but you may want to re-read it.

Here is chapter 2 for now, I hope it is something you like. It definitely turned out to be longer than I planned, but this whole story turned out to be longer than I planned.

You can complain about this or anything in the comments.

Some of the stuff is made up, obviously. Because, I can.

Also, whatever stupid I write below, it is never my intention to hurt anyone's feelings.

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Griffin**

 _i_ _i. Griffin [indifferent, with a short nod of the head or with a small gesture of a chin]_

Clarke has plans for the summer.

For one, she is spending a good part of it out of Ark.

Second, if she can help it, she is not gonna be seeing, let alone be thinking of Bellamy Blake, much.

He is leaving town in the fall, which also means she doesn't have to see him beyond the summer, including his stupid smirk, his infuriatingly flirty winks ( _fake_ flirty winks), his ever curly mess of a hair, or his stupidly freckled face. She'd prefer not to have another verbal sparring match with him or be bothered by his staring either.

The most she is looking for, though, is no more hearing of that stupid nickname. Like, ever again.

When he speaks (hisses) that innocent word, _princesssss_ ; the way he perfected snarling it over the year - that infuriates her the most.

She's suffered enough, she deserves this. She deserves to be selfish for wishing him in a comfortable enough distance away from her. That is, if everything goes according to plan, and he is starting his studies at Ark U; fingers crossed he is gonna be gone for good, for a few years for the least.

She will miss Octavia, though.

Unlike Bellamy, she is such an easy person to love, and unlike Bellamy, she is going to miss her during this summer break. But she wouldn't be seeing too much of sweet Octavia anyway, as she is lined up to help in her mother's shop, and Clarke is to travel across the country for this family vacation planned with the Jahas.

They will meet soon enough. And, there is always texting or WhatsApp.

* * *

School year ends in a flash; the colourful swirl of the pretty spring flowers she loves and the lingering fresh blossom scent of the spring is replaced by the endless green of the trees and the earthy summer wind.

Summer holiday is kicking in no time, and within a span of a week after her last Friday class she finds herself aboard a commercial airline - first class, because her parents are classy - flying across the country, to the coast, for the most part of summer break.

That is where they used to live before moving to Ark.

That's where the Jahas still reside.

She doesn't plan too much ahead. Sure, she wants to soak in all the sunshine she can get - hopefully to tan a little, well, enough to hold that tan for the first few weeks of school. Before her annoyingly creamy skin returns, which she has to live with for the most part of the year.

More than anything, though, she is hoping for a successful re-enactment of her friendship with Wells.

Wells was her best friend growing up. They used to be close.

They were practically siblings, apart from running the same blood through their veins. And well, besides the minor fact that he was black.

Some kids in their kindergarten used to tell her that he was an alien, which was just ridiculous. He was her brother, and she'd seen him scraping his knees or elbows pretty much every weekend they were climbing that big old oak tree in their garden.

She'd seen his blood. It was red, just like hers. She'd never really thought long about stupid kids saying stupid stuff. Some kids are born to be mean and plain stupid and Lucas was one of them.

She absolutely did not tell the other girls, when Lucas had peed his pants that time a spider had landed on his hand when they'd been playing in the sand. (She did, but Lucas deserved all the teasing and the snickers he'd got after that. He'd never mentioned anything stupid about Wells again.)

Wells was the one teaching her chess and self-defence. Although calling the hide and seek or tiggy or those playful wrestling matches as kids are not really equal to real self-defence lessons, now she knows that. He said he was preparing her for real life the best he could. The countless hours of running around in the garden had definitely helped to build her stamina, and he meant well. It was good.

He was the one teaching her not to judge people by first impressions. _First impressions often lie, Clarke_ , he said.

God, she misses him.

They fall out of contact for the past year, but the truth is, she didn't know what to say or how to keep up the easy friendship they'd had after the kiss.

She is still nervous about it.

She is already on a plane, so meeting him is sort of inevitable now, especially that his father, Thelonious, or Uncle Theo, is their host.

Before the move, Wells admitted to have a minor crush on her, which. She didn't want to hurt him, he was her brother.

You don't date your brother.

That is definitely punishable by law for one, and two - they are so easy at being friends. They were good at being friends.

But Wells decided to kiss her; it wasn't even a real adult kiss, just a light touch of dry lips one summer night, a week before they moved. He didn't say anything after, besides that he'd wanted to do that once and that he'd felt he'd been running out of time.

Wells was admitted to boarding school that fall.

The Griffins moved away soon after, to live on the other side of the country, and it was not the right time to bring it up anymore.

He didn't reach out to her either after. And she left it at that.

Surprisingly, meeting with him is much easier now than she thought it would be. Being apart gave them the time to think; 10 months later, she is feeling less awkward and guilty about the whole thing.

So when they land, she doesn't think much before embracing him in a hug and planting a kiss on his cheeks. Their reunion goes easy; feels close to what they were before. The awkwardness of their last meeting is dead and gone.

(They talk about it later, though. And it is good to talk. They are fine. When they play a round of chess, later, it truly feels like old times.)

Her family and the Jahas used to be pretty close. They were considered to be friends, well before her mother had saved Uncle Theo's life, after some crazy activist stabbed him on the street.

He was giving a public speech about ' _Power plant rules would lead to rolling blackouts, send electricity prices skyrocketing and devastate local economies_ '. Apparently the speech did not resonate with everyone well.

He was a known industry lobbyist back then.

It took her mother hours and hours of restless standing at his operation table, two blood transfusions and an unidentified number of those sweaty forehead wipes to put him back together.

After the operation, Uncle Theo was ordered a couple of months of bed rest and therapy for the sake of full recovery.

Following that, things had changed.

Thelonious retired from his public job.

He'd made enough money to last for a lifetime, he could allow to take a break.

He'd got himself a life coach, a woman named Allison and he'd grown a beard (which went grey in a year).

He has a walking stick now.

The first time Clarke saw the stick she thought it had to be an accessory to that not-so-new-wave sport called _Nordic_ _walking,_ because — really, _why would a forty-something year old man, Wells' father, need a cane?_

Thelonious admitted to be going through some sort of "self-discovery"exercise.

As it turned out - the stick, the beard, and everything was part of his cleansing ritual.

Allison brought up the idea of using the cane. Something about _don't let the weight of your burdens crash you, but share the weight_.

It was also her idea to admit Wells into boarding school. It is a military school in fact, because Allison thought it would do great things to a young boy's mind and body like Wells.

Clarke thought it was bullshit. (Wells thought it was bullshit, but he didn't say a word - always the boy with the example behaviour.)

Overall, they have a good time at the Jahas, if not a little bittersweet.

Clarke and Wells reconcile as friends.

He looks fine, she would know if he was unhappy, it is one of those uncanny sibling things to sense. He looks fine - his eyes are smiling again.

He is still her brother.

He is due to start his second year at the boarding school this year and oddly enough, he actually likes it. The dork.

Some things have changed for the better, she concedes - some don't.

(Uncle Theo is visibly more under the spell of Allie. The way he drinks in every word she says… It is a little eerie. She moved in with him - though their relationship is said to be platonic - practically the day Wells left for school.)

(They become lovers by next summer.)

* * *

Four things happen when Clarke returns to school that year.

 _One_ , Bellamy leaves for Ark U.

It's been almost a month since he left and somewhat over a month after their last argument. (He just had to disagree with her on what had better nutritional value for breakfast - porridge or scrambled eggs. The asshole.)

She has to admit, she was holding her ground pretty well for a young girl at her age against him. She is pretty satisfied with herself. And finally, he is gone for good, which is like a dream come true.

But, she also has to admit that she's sort of — got used it? She is still utterly pissed whenever she thinks about the wicked way he hissed that awful pet-name, or the hatred laced mockery present in his tone, but. Their arguments kept her mind buzzing and entertained.

Her brain was on a constant alert on how to render him speechless the best, even if those heavenly silent moments had never lasted more than a breath.

Her special verbal sparring talent is just… going to waste now.

Her life is peaceful. It is good.

She is bored.

Slowly, a new feeling is settling deep into her stomach - she identifies it to be _absence_. Be no fooled, she is not missing _him_ , and definitely not missing the insults, but she is missing to keep her brain occupied with the constant battle of words. She's got to a point, and not so long ago, when she was thinking about smart comebacks at odd times, such as when brushing her teeth.

She still has the chess club and yoga and O.

Finally she can enter the Blake house without a nervous bone in her body.

She signs up to a new class: Art.

They start with pottery, which she doesn't like that much, but it would only last a few weeks when they'll be changing to painting with watercolours. The chance to use the colour palette of a rainbow. Which is way more exciting than manhandling a piece of mud.

 _Two,_ a new transfer student arrives to Ark High, mid year, around the time the snow begins to thaw - a boy with shaggy brown hair and deep brown eyes.

There was a mix up with his papers and he ended up in her biology class that day.

They just started the topic of mutations, they are in the middle of looking at photos of weird mutated animals; a grotesque two-headed deer is projected on the wall, when he enters the room.

The only empty seat is the one just next to hers, it might be fate that they meet right away.

He mouths a silent _hi_ and seats himself. It is not like they could do anything more under the dimmed lights.

She offers the boy her silent hello in form of a small smile.

He finds her at the end of the lecture."Nice to meet you, _princess,_ " he says with an easy smile, simultaneously offering a hand.

She is close to snap at him with an angry "Don't call me that!" He is way too cheerful to notice the wince running her face, but it is not his fault he doesn't know.

He doesn't know how she's been conditioned to jump at anyone upon hearing such an innocent sounding word like _princess_.

She takes his hand and gives it a little shake. What did he say his name was? _Flinn?_

She offers him her name in return.

He is handsome from up close, and really friendly indeed.

She doesn't want to judge him on first impressions, she is gonna give him a chance. Who knows, they could grow to be good friends in the end.

There is this thing she notices about him - he doesn't have any freckles.

Not. A. Single. One.

The thought alone is disturbing a little, because — why on Earth would she be thinking about freckles?

Since when does she notice things like stupid freckles?

She only knows one other person with freckles. Well, him _and_ Octavia.

(She pockets Finn as a boyfriend in a year. One of the stupidest decisions of her life.)

(She breaks up with said boyfriend, the two-timer cheater, not soon later. Not soon enough, though, but ending things with him is still one of the smartest decisions of her life.)

 _Three_ , Octavia is seeing someone.

It is Atom, which. She thinks she could do better.

Every now and then she still has to stifle a giggle whenever she hears that name, because — really, how stupid that name is? It's like naming a kid _North_ _Star_. Some parents are weird.

She is eternally gratefully to hers for naming her Clarke. It's way better being mistaken for a boy, than wearing a stupid name like _Kal-El, Kyd_ or _Blanket*_ for life.

Atom is… well he is okay as a person she supposes, but he is not the boyfriend she's pictured for Octavia.

Octavia is pretty, she deserves a pretty boyfriend and Atom is pretty enough, true - blue eyes, brown hair and being on the swim-team equipped him with the right muscles alright; and that is all.

She is certain this relationship will not last long.

(She proves to be right.)

 _Four,_ it is spring break when The Grumpy Blake unexpectedly returns.

She's almost forgotten about Bellamy. Almost. It is been _almost_ a year.

It is late that night, close to 8 p.m. She is crossing across the parking lot, on her way to the car her father insisted on her to take on Thursday nights like this, when her chess club meetings go deeper into the night. They are preparing for a tournament.

It is not _that_ late and it is not dark yet, and she could have easily taken the bus, but. Her father insisted and it is an easy sacrifice to make for him.

She is still thinking about her wickedly smart move with her dark knight; honestly, she is completely lost in her thoughts, when she hears the struggle.

It is kind of a blur of movements: There is Bellamy grabbing Atom's shirt in one moment, and then, there's Bellamy landing in the dirt with a loud _thump_ in the next. Atom is kind of backed away, a blend of surprise and shock playing on his face. He is just hovering.

There is another tall guy, who hit Bellamy on the neck, then landed a few punches on his face, and tall guy is now kicking him in the stomach.

She doesn't run. She cannot run, Griffins do not run away.

Instead, she is shouting a loud "HEY" for tall guy, which gets him to stop. Her heart is beating quicker, a million times a minute - this is a definite _fight or flight_ situation, but she's made her decision the moment she shouted the word.

Big guy doesn't come at her. He spits on the ground instead - his intent is clearly to land a big spit on Bellamy. He misses and he looks annoyed by this. He swears, then he bolts.

Atom is kind of evaporated from the scene. _Coward_ , she concedes.

Her eyes settle on Bellamy - on the ground, his face is starting to sport bruises covered in scrapes and blood. He is still clutching onto his stomach, which, _god knows he might have internal bleeding_.

For someone with so many muscles he's clearly capable of defending himself. Or so she thought before.

Wait a minute, it's only March, _what the hell is he doing here?_

"Well hello to you too, _princesssss_ " he peers up at her and sneers. "Enjoying the show?"

She doesn't know, but maybe, she's voiced that last question about his whereabouts inadvertently. She's in a little shock herself. Bellamy, back in Ark, in the dirt, blood covering his face.

Now, she had to shove her hands under her armpits on many occasions in his vicinity before, many times did she picture to slap him on the face. Still, she never actually considered painful physical violence.

"It's not funny Blake. What happened?" She says, dismissing his taunt. Either she's become used to him or she's too tired to care today.

"It's none of your business, _prin_ — "

"Blake, I may not like you, but you are hurt. And you're Octavia's brother, and she is my friend. I have a first aid pack in the car," she levels him with a gaze. "Stay put. I mean it!"

She returns with the box, kneels next to him and gets to work. She is her mother's daughter, her _doctor_ mother's daughter, she knows pretty well what is to be done next.

The silence doesn't feel uncomfortable, it is good. It's not like they had a nice conversation before, silence is better. Until Bellamy apparently can't stand it anymore.

"Don't tell O…" his shoulders sag, pleading, his features soften along with it.

"Right. She's gonna look at your pretty face beaten up and she won't wanna know how that happened," she is pointing two of her fingers to his face.

He admits to catching Atom kissing Octavia behind the bleachers.

He doesn't say more, he doesn't have to. She's learned quite a few things about him by now, his eyes are telling her the rest.

"It's not like they were sneaking away to a closet to do _god knows what_ ," she murmurs, more to herself. He is being an idiot if he thinks Octavia will value the big brother talk to any of her boyfriends.

He catches on, of course. If looks could kill, this is definitely one of those looks, but it's not like she hasn't seen that look before. Well, not exactly this look, because now he looks somewhere between pained and worried. It's a little touching.

He doesn't say anything, though she's certain he is tempted to snap. Maybe it is the pain. Maybe he is just too tired to snap.

Later, he swears they only had a peaceful, bordering "friendly", conversation with Atom; but in her book friendly or peaceful does not involve grabbing someone by the collar of their t-shirt.

So if she is rubbing some more alcohol into his scrapes, and rubbing it a little bit harder, he deserves that. She pretends not to hear his wince, and he doesn't voice any complain.

He mutters a hardly audible _thanks_ , when she puts the last plaster on his face.

She makes him to climb into her car and drives him home. Surprisingly, he doesn't protest.

They spend the ride to the Blake house in silence.

"You know, " she starts, once she's parked the car. "You may be an ass, but I'd like to believe that you'd be there for me. Not me, specifically, but someone in need. So if anything like this happens to me — "

He snorts. "How many enemies do you have exactly, _pr_ — " but he cuts himself off, gesturing with his chin towards her instead.

"Just you. That weird cat lady next door doesn't count." She replies, she means that as a joke. He doesn't say anything but looking at her rather amused, before sliding out of the car.

His smile is somewhat lopsided, it must hurt him. Good.

Octavia doesn't talk to him for a week.

She's never heard Octavia muttering profanities before. It's weird but also entertaining. At some point, though, it's unclear if her anger is directed toward Bellamy or Atom.

You see, _Rule Number One of the Blake Code_ is _Protect your sibling at any cost_. It works both ways: everyone knows Bellamy is overly protective of his sister, but O is equally protective of him, albeit much more subtle.

And because of the Code - Atom has to go.

She only learns a week later that tall guy was someone named Dax. An upcoming young talent in the swim team, until he was caught with drugs (by Bellamy).

She starts to see a bit more of Bellamy. He is clearly uncomfortable around her, he is ducking his head down or awkwardly nods in her direction as a way of greeting, but most of all, he is clearly not calling out the pet-name.

Octavia tells her that he was wearing sunglasses for weeks. (They have a rather rainy and cloudy spring, summer is officially still 2 months away.)

* * *

Things change when they meet not long after her break-up with Finn.

She is older and he is older, hair slicked back now - looks like a man.

She was in a pretty foul mood for weeks. No wonder, she caught that cheating bastard of an ex while kissing another girl. Another girl, who is in fact, his actual childhood girlfriend. The one she didn't know about.

She feels dirty.

She feels heartbroken.

She feels angry.

Most of all, she feels tired and disappointed in the universe.

"Griffin" someone calls out, pulling her back to reality.

She blinks at him, confusion clear on her face.

Her head is still swirling around Finn and the girlfriend and _never dating boys in her life ever again_ , so it takes her a good minute to pay attention to whoever it is.

Bellamy Blake is calling her - by her actual name. Family name, actually, but who cares about that minor detail, which is a big progress, in all fairness.

"Since when do you call me Griffin?" she prompts, then gulps. This is big.

Bellamy seems to consider that for a moment, and she swears she sees a light flush spreading across his face.

"Well, I thought you'd like it better I don't call you _that_ after Finn…"

He then pulls her in an awkward half-hug, not too long, just a light pat on her shoulder. And a quick "See you later", before wandering away.

He doesn't look back, so he doesn't see the little tug at the corner of her lips, something akin to a smile, evoked by Bellamy Blake. That's a first.

And that was it. No more _princessssss_ , or _princesss_ , not even a plain _princess_ from then on.

Clarke Griffin thinks that maybe, _maybe_ , it is time to start to believe in miracles.

* * *

Bellamy Blake is a lot of things.

His outrageous attractiveness is his most prominent trait. Bellamy — no, the Blakes have these genes that make your insides go jelly. (And Octavia, technically, is still just a teen.)

He is an asshole. He is grumpy. He is stubborn and strongly opinionated. He knows way too well how to push her buttons.

Once you get to know him personally, though, and he lets you in, he is the most admirable big brother, to everyone. He is older than her, true, but now she's known him long enough to see behind his walls. She's seen him vulnerable. They are not exactly friends, not a bit, but they are definitely on friendly, or _friendlier_ terms than before.

She likes this version of him much more.

She starts to believe that he is, in truth, much _more than just a rude and a pretty face_.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

* * *

 **End Notes:**

i.

(*) these names are 100% legit.

Ref to **The 20 Most Bizarre Celebrity Baby Names** , look it up.

ii.

I presume this chapter covers a span of almost 2 years, so she is over 16, close to 17 by the end of this.

iii.

Aren't you curious why he dislikes her so much?

So what's next?

iv.

My big challenge with this is really the English, okay not English, but writing a story in English that makes sense for native English speakers as well…

Anyway, I totally reserve the right to change things.

My writing process is chaotic, and I've totally written most of chapter 3 even before this one. I also have the chapter titles, and a little bit written from each of the remaining chapters, but. I do not want to rush them like I did with chapter 1.

+i.

Okay, here I also have to add there are too many wonderful writers out there. I can list minimum 15 I adore, and I am like lightyears away from them, but that is good. They are definitely setting the bar high, and it is gonna take a while to get there.. Practice makes perfect, right?

 **Let me know what you think. I don't bite.**


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